Sake, sex and gore: The Japanese zombie film and cult cinema

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Zombie film is a minor, yet growing, sub-genre within Japan’s contemporary horror genre. This article seeks to situate this sub-genre within the context of cult cinema and examine the aesthetic qualities prominent within key Japanese zombie films. Using Mathijs and Mendik’s anatomical categories in conjunction with an exploration of the international marketing and reception of the sub-genre, this article discusses Helldriver (Nishimura, 2011), Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead (Iguchi, 2011) and Rape Zombie: Lust of the Dead (Tomomatsu, 2012) as key examples of the sub-genre’s cult designation.</jats:p>